Eighth Grade Students Visit the National Cathedral, National Archives, Ford's Theater, the Holocaust Museum, and Memorials in Washington DC

Posted 05/05/2017 01:26PM

Can you believe it? It's our last full day of this trip! We are coming home tomorrow (Friday) night, and looking forward to seeing you all!

First, we went to the World War II Memorial and walked around the beautiful tribute to the soldiers in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters who sacrificed all they had to restore peace. Four hundred thousand people died in this war, and to honor them, a gold star has been placed on a field of blue for every 100 lives lost. From here, we did a prayer walk to the Washington Monument, acknowledging it is the National Day of Prayer. We took pictures and admired this 555-foot obelisk before boarding the bus to the National Cathedral.

This must be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world! Taking 83 years to complete, this cathedral was constructed in gothic style. There are ornate stained glass windows at every turn, even one with an actual moon rock in it! We learned that Woodrow Wilson is buried here, and Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his last Sunday sermon here. The symbolism, beauty, and significance of this edifice cannot be captured by words, or even by pictures; it can only be felt in person, and we had the awesome opportunity to experience it ourselves.

At the National Archives, we were able to see the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Though the ink is faded, the reality of what these men wrote was still vivid before us. We also got to see a copy of the Magna Carta, the British document that inspired many of our founding father's ideas for a new nation. While it was a copy, it was still written in 1297; clearly, one of the oldest historical artifacts we have seen on this journey!

We walked from the archives to lunch and then to Ford's theater to see where Lincoln was assassinated and where, after being shot, he spent his final hours across the street. We were able to sit in the very theater seats and look at the box he sat in while a park ranger recounted the facts of the night and the possible motivation of John Wilkes Boothe to do such a thing.

After our time here, we boarded the bus for the Holocaust Museum and spent two full hours walking through the decade, learning of the horrific deeds done, and honoring the memory of those who died. It left everyone in a somber place by the end, and we all wanted to take what we had learned and seen here to heart so that this would never occur again.

After debriefing from this experience, we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. We saw his figure, carved out of the mountain of despair, looking ahead in hope. We closed the day with a fun dinner at Dave and Buster’s.